In this third installment of Bernstein’s mystery series, a Los Angeles private investigator in the mid-1960s searches for a missing teen girl.

Cole Dunbar is rudely awakened (with a hangover) in the early morning by a potential client who has his home phone number. Betty Safire has a legitimate concern: Her 16-year-old daughter, Ginger, has been missing for almost a week, and the local cops aren’t taking it seriously. Cole questions the girl’s schoolteachers, her friends, and a couple of guys she’s casually dated. The most notable lead, it seems, is Ginger’s tie to an apparent guru cryptically named “The Way.” Cole and his wife Marie’s adopted 19-year-old son, Pedro, is determined to be a private detective like his father, but his parents, especially Marie, aren’t keen on him doing anything beyond paperwork at the office. Being out in the field could very well lead to danger for any PI, which Cole and Pedro confirm when their investigation takes them up north to a secluded, menacing site. Engaging family drama takes precedence in Bernstein’s novel. Pedro is a convincingly drawn character; the young man demands to be treated like an adult but still throws tantrums when he doesn’t get his way. Marie, too, is relatable, a protective mother who still sees the nearly-20-year-old as her little boy. They’re all immersed in a masterfully rendered time period—the author captures the ubiquitous presence of the hippie subculture (“There was a lot of smoke swirling in the air, but from the smell of it, it wasn’t from Lucky Strikes or Marlboros”), and Cole and Pedro get caught up in the real-life Sunset Strip riots. The mystery itself isn’t quite as memorable; Cole doesn’t dig very deeply into Ginger’s life as he zeroes in on one lead early on and lets a rumor dictate an essential part of the investigation. Still, Cole and Pedro inching closer to the truth gives the final act a boost in tension, and readers will surely welcome the possibility of further father-son PI team-ups in sequels.

Absorbing family dynamics bolster this leisurely paced detective story.

In this mystery series opener, blackmail, kidnapping, and a rash of murders in 1956 Los Angeles keep a private detective on his toes while he wrestles with PTSD.

Cole Dunbar, a 30-something World War II veteran and former cop, is sitting in his unair-conditioned office enduring another day of LA’s hot, smoggy summer when he receives a phone call from the gorgeous, mysterious socialite Monique Smythe. The gumshoe is still decompressing from a recurring nightmare that leaves him drenched in sweat every morning, and his rough exterior is on full display when he meets with Monique. She is obviously not one of his usual down-and-out clients. When she finally pours out her story, Cole learns that she is dealing with blackmail and a threat to her father’s life. Mesmerized by her beauty and what Cole perceives is her fragile inner core, he takes the case. It is a decision that will repeatedly put his own life in jeopardy, whether he is in LA or Mexico hunting for clues. In addition, Cole suffers from a severe case of “combat fatigue.” He is seeing a psychiatrist, Dr. James Grimes, to help unravel the root cause of his low self-esteem, a trauma that reaches back to childhood and has been triggered by his experiences in Japan (Okinawa planted “its own battle flag of hurt and pain deep in my soul”). If the premise and dialogue of the primary mystery appear torn from an old Humphrey Bogart script, this secondary plotline involving Cole’s PTSD adds a modern twist to the 1950s-style detective story—and it keeps things intriguing, even during the sections in which the action slows down. Bernstein effectively floods the narrative with atmospherics evocative of LA in the ’50s, from Cole’s favorite eatery (Pink’s for chili dogs) and his local beer of choice (Eastside) to the period’s pop music and Hollywood icons. And Cole’s quotations from early-20th-century novelist/screenwriter John Fante peppered throughout the tale lay a soulful foundation for his character’s development. Cole is a promising series lead—if his breakfasts of Eastside six packs with Camel cigarette chasers and all those chili dogs don’t get him first.

An entertaining mix of gumshoe grind, wise-cracking dialogue, and high action.